• Open D (‘Vestapol’) tuning •
D-A-D-F#-A-D • OVERVIEW • Resembles EADGBE’s famous ‘0-2-2-1-0-0’ Emaj shape in terms of intervals – a general pattern sometimes known as ‘Vestapol’ (after The Siege of Sevastopol, an earnest 1854 American folk song about the Crimean War, popular in parlor guitar instructional manuals of the 19th century: more below). Thus, the tuning represents a logical […]
• Open G (‘Taro Patch’) tuning •
D-G-D-G-B-D • OVERVIEW • Resembles a Standard-tuned Amaj shape in terms of interval structure (‘0-0-2-2-2-0’). Gives a more ambiguous resonance than the other ‘main’ maj-chord tuning – Open D – as its major triad is arranged in ‘inverted’ fashion, with the 5th (D) in the bass rather than the G root (which is on 5str). […]
• Eb Standard (‘Hendrix’) tuning •
Eb-Ab-Db-Gb-Bb-Eb • OVERVIEW • Eb Standard, while most famously showcased by Jimi Hendrix in the late 1960s, has been in use for centuries. Countless artists have tuned ‘one semitone down’ over the ages – both as a timbral/register choice, and as a method of safely breaking in new strings on any chorded instrument. Total tension […]
Stringed canvas: Joni Mitchell’s musico-visual imagination
If songwriting entails the deliberate selection of chords, melodies, and lyrics, then why not consciously craft your tunings too? For Joni, it makes no sense to skip this step – after all, what painter would stick to the same six colour pots when a near-infinite selection lie within easy reach? Early sparks | Hejira […]
